Hi!

I've been playing this game for quite a few days now, and I still haven't managed to find out: HOW DO I EQUIP AND USE MAGIC??!! May seem like a dumb question, but I just can't figure out how! I have been trying to buy the spells, upgrading my magic skill, nothing works!!! I can't equip the spells!! And there are NO sufficient game guides out, since this is quite an obscure game!

Can anyone help me?? Please!!!

Even

I finally figured it out!!!!!! This game is WAY too complicated for my liking, but now it'll be a bit easier.

THANK YOU <3 <3 <3

It has an outstanding crafting system, that's mainly what makes it worthwhile I'd say. Otherwise, play on novice because even that's hard, normal is just insane. And it requires a whole lot of micromanagement and planning. And keep in mind that magic has a support role, makes a difference but it's the actual fighting that will win fights (again, on novice - on normal it's almost entirely a stealth game, enemies will become entirely impossible very early on). But on novice it IS possible to kill and loot everything, with extreme care and preparation in one area and a lot of retries and the right skills in another.

Yeah, this game has quite a lot of features...haven't gotten around to crafting yet though..

You should, then. It's how you get good gear, or spells, and later decent magic gear.
But a lot of it is an example of early pain for later gain. Mainly because of character development, with cost of skills increasing for all when you increase one, so plan carefully and always wait and advance only the most costly skills you know you'll want. But also carefully gather the good materials and runes and put them to use when you'll get the most of them.

The game did leave an impression of me back when I played it (enough to want to review it some 5 years later). Admittedly, the poor story was also part of that impression, and some frustrating design decisions, but had plenty going for it.

Yeah, thanks. Uh, btw, could you perhaps explain something on crafting as well?? Didn't quite understand that either. Don't understand the process yet, where do I buy the blueprints??

Can find some in stores or while adventuring, but what's put together can also be taken apart, so disassemble something and rebuild with better materials and/or spells if you have them. While an undestandably costly strategy, you may well find yourself purchasing something just for a component of it, which you'll then use for something else. So rather than just looking at what an item is as a whole, you're often looking at what can you do with its components, since it's not just the item as it is then put together that you find, but a blueprint and some materials and/or runes, so how can you put them to the best use?

Stumbled upon a post about Evil Islands crafting just now.

Great game, and a "hidden gem" if you want a really challenging game.
Magic is very weak early on (a fireball won't even singe a wolf), but once you get higher skills and the most powerful runes some spells are the only means of killing some of the tougher enemies, like a poison cloud against ogres, for example.